PRESENTS is a screening of short video works that don’t require an abled or physically present body in order to be performative.

PRESENTS – online exhibition

The word “Presents” is written multiple times in white, with a big black bow wrapped around it. The background is a radiant, rainbow-like gradient.

Our first exhibition on Vital Capacities, PRESENTS, is curated by resident artist, Romily Alice Walden and COVEN collective member, Frances Breden, and includes a programme of film and video. PRESENTS opened on 7 Sept 2020.

Go to the PRESENTS exhibition now, or read more below about the show and its content.

PRESENTS is a screening of short video works that don’t require an abled or physically present body in order to be performative. Ten sick and disabled artists come together to expand the idea of ‘performance’, presenting work that is embodied, immediate, and present without forcing bodies to conform to ableist norms of art-making.

Some works offer ways for us to dance together and feel connected to sick and queer community from our rooms. Others challenge us to radically slow down and match the pace of their words or their movements through the world. Many do not have a visual or do not have an audio component, highlighting what is present and what is absent. All of the works, when necessary, are captioned and audio described. Each work feels like a gift, giving new possibilities for accessible art-making and relating to each other.

In addition to their video work, each artist has created a “score” for you to perform yourself alongside their work; the scores are invitations, instructions, challenges, and meditations that allow you to feel the presence of the artist in the room with you.

The show is curated by Romily Alice Walden (Vital Capacities artist in residence and UdK Graduate School Fellow) and Frances Breden (independent curator and member of COVEN collective).

See the PRESENTS exhibition.

Part of Vital Capacities, our new, purpose-built accessible digital residency space.